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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Robert Mann

Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte square up for first time before Wembley heavyweight bout

For the first time since their title fight was announced, heavyweight titans Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte finally came face-to-face at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

As the pair squared off for the first time, Tyson had to hold back his dad John as the face-off threatened to boil over.

As the Gypsy King approached Whyte, words were exchanged between John and a member of the Body Snatcher's entourage.

Following the commotion, Whyte stoked the fire by calling John Fury an "idiot".

"Tyson Fury's dad needs to relax," he told BT Sport.

"My man's 600-years-old and he's stepping forward and they're trying to let my guys onto the stage.

"I said to him 'John, calm down, you're an adult, you keep shouting and screaming like a child, this is me and Tyson's day, relax.'"

Fury puts the WBC belt on the line at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night in front of 94,000 fans, in what has been dubbed the biggest domestic bout in the heavyweight division since Lennox Lewis met Frank Bruno in 1993.

Ahead of their fight, the pair both spoke of their chances, with Fury happy about his preparation so far.

"No complaints from me," said Fury, before affirming: "Dillian is a good fighting man and the fans are in for a good treat.

"I know Dillian personally and he knows me and we are going to treat you to a barnstormer."

Echoing his comments, Whyte said he will be pulling no punches on the night.

He said: "This fight means everything to me, Wembley is not that far from where I am from.

"I was not expected to live this long, I have taken risk after risk and I am ready to go.

"We've worked hard in the gym, I believe in myself and I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

"Victory by any means necessary I'll do that. I'm not scared to take risks, it's nothing new.

"It means everything to fight in my home country for the world title. It's massive.

"Me and him didn't expect to be here, especially me. I've taken risks time and time and time again. I'm ready to rock and roll."

They were against Anthony Joshua in 2015 and Alexander Povetkin in 2020, though he won a rematch against the Russian last year to become the mandatory for the WBC title once again.

He and Fury have known each other since 2012, when Whyte was a sparring partner for Fury ahead of the latter's fight with Martin Rogan.

Win or lose against Whyte, Fury has confirmed that he will retire from boxing following the fight this weekend - with a unification bout against AJ out of the picture.

Asked to clarify if this means he'll never face Anthony Joshua, Fury confirmed: "Nah, they've had their chances. That's sailed, gone."

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